"The alternative is to never discuss any upcoming game until it is completely finished and available for purchase."

Gearbox president Randy Pitchford does not believe that releasing Aliens: Colonial Marine's early 'gameplay' footage was dishonest, instead claiming that "work-in-progress [demos] should be encouraged".

Pitchford made the comment on Twitter on Saturday, responding to a tweet from a consumer appearing to criticise Gearbox's tactics with its sci-fi shooter.

"A false demo created after product was finished would be dishonest," said Pitchford. "To share intent with work-in-progress should be encouraged!"

He continued: "The alternative is to never discuss any upcoming game until it is completely finished and available for purchase."

Aliens: Colonial Marines hit the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed that the final game was significantly different to what had previously been shown in pre-release "in-game footage".

It didn't appear to be 'in-game' at all, of course: As you can see in the video below, the final version of Aliens: Colonial Marines looks nothing like it did in the earlier footage.

SEGA later acknowledged that the trailers "did not accurately reflect the final content of the game", but that they "weren't aware of issues when the trailers were produced".

Pitchford ended: "Please compare E3 demos for HL2, Starcraft 2 and GTA 3 to final. There are *still* people bitching about differences in each..."

"Would you deem a creature/vehicle/mission demonstrated not in final game as incomplete product (as in each case mentioned)?"

Aliens: Colonial Marines re-entered the charts this week, although it's thought to have underperformed at retail. The game had shipped only 1.31m copies as of March 31, 2013, with SEGA later confirming that a Wii U version had been scrapped.

A new Aliens title is currently in development at Total War: Rome 2 developer Creative Assembly.